ESHA News

May is nearly done, so congratulations are due for almost completing your leadership year for 2017-2018! In my discussions with you, both face to face and on our connecting calls, I remain deeply impressed with the common sense, creativity, and energy with which you approach your always demanding jobs. Keep it up! Go, ESHA Heads!

To the degree possible, enjoy the hoopla and intensity of the end of the school year, and then totally enjoy the well deserved time off that you have merited this summer. And before you check out, register below for our October Retreat in Palm Beach!

Cheers!

Chris

​,From ESHA President Elinor Scully

Dear ESHA Colleagues,

We are in the home stretch and I'm sure all of you are counting down, in one way or another, to the end of the school year. I also hope that as you anticipate summer you have carved out some time to rest and recharge. I'm including two links to things I've read recently that are compelling and speak to our work as leaders of preschool through grade eight institutions.

Have a wonderful summer! I look forward to seeing all of you at The Breakers in Palm Beach for our annual retreat in the fall.

Warmly,Elinor

Heads Up!

Food for thought from The Marshall Memo...

Which Managerial Coaching Style Works Best?

This Harvard Business Review article reports that most managers aspire to check in frequently with their people to see how things are going and develop talent. “Indeed,” say the authors, “the desire for frequent discussions about development is one reason many companies are moving away from annual performance reviews: A yearly conversation isn’t enough.” But surveys reveal that managers spend only about 9 percent of their time with subordinates; they’re just too busy. Given that stark reality, the key question is how leaders can have the biggest impact in that small window of opportunity.

A study by Gartner Executive Programs identified four distinct employee-coaching profiles and analyzed which was most effective:

• Teacher-managersgive advice, feedback, and direction based on their own knowledge and past experience in the field.

• Always-on managersprovide continuous coaching, give feedback across a wide range of skills, and stay on top of how employees are developing. This is often seen as the ideal style of management.

• Connector managerslink employees to others on the team when they themselves can’t give the most helpful feedback. They spend more time assessing the skills, needs, and interests of their employees, and realize that they often aren’t the best person to do the coaching.

• Cheerleader managers are available and supportive and deliver positive feedback, but mostly put employees in charge of their own development.

The Gartner research team came to several conclusions. First, the amount of coaching time was less important than depth and quality – and quality depended on coaching style. Second, the hyper-vigilant Always-on coaching style was the least effective; in fact, these managers were doing more harm than good. Why?

- Their continual stream of feedback could be overwhelming and kept employees from developing independently.

- They spent less time assessing employees’ skill needs and tended to coach in areas that weren’t relevant to real needs.

- They were so focused on coaching that they often failed to recognize the limits of their own expertise; they were winging it or giving misguided advice.

Third, the researchers found the Connectors were by far the most effective. In fact, employees who worked with these leaders were three times as likely to be high performers as those under the other three styles. What’s going on here? Consider a professional tennis player’s coach who tries to do it all. Nobody knows everything, which is why a really good coach will identify expertise, monitor progress, and outsource certain areas – perhaps strength training, nutrition, serves, lobs, and backhands.

Becoming a Connector is a mind shift for many leaders, especially the humility involved in admitting gaps in knowledge and deferring to others. “Historically,” says Jaime Roca of Gartner, “being a manager is about being directive and telling people what to do. Being a Connector is more about asking the right questions, providing tailored feedback, and helping employees make a connection to a colleague who can help them.” Being a connector also takes some of the pressure off managers to be all things to everyone. They basically delegate some of the coaching to other members of their team, encouraging people to coach one another, and constantly assessing and pointing out skills that exist within the organization that can benefit everyone.